Everyone loves a good ump show, right? Well, fans of college baseball got one on Friday night in a game between Mississippi Valley State and New Orleans. It might be the worst piece of umpiring we’ve ever seen.
In the ninth inning, Mississippi Valley State was at the plate with two outs and facing a 7-3 deficit. On a 1-1 count, the batter took a called strike that … was not a strike. He was animated after the call, but eventually stepped back into the box.
That’s when things got even wilder. The umpire’s next called strike was even more egregious than the first. Below is the video:
That call ended the game, and the Mississippi Valley State hitter was understandably furious. As would anyone who’s ever played baseball.
The batter was so heated that New Orleans’ catcher got between the two in an attempt to keep the peace. Deep down, even the opposing team probably knows they got away with a few beneficial calls.
Fans React to College Baseball Umpire Taking Over Game
There’s really no other way to look at the video above — the umpire in the Mississippi Valley State-New Orleans game made it about him. Rather than allow a kid to show some emotions on a bad call, he took it a little too personally.
Folks on social media had plenty to say about the way Friday night’s game ended.
“If you make a call this egregiously bad at this level you should never be able to umpire at that level again,” one Twitter user wrote. Another added, “That umpire needs to be suspended for awhile. Embarrassing.”
A third user on Twitter chimed in, “Watch the catcher’s reaction after the second pitch, says it ALL.
If you’re going to umpire a game, keep your emotions out of it. Otherwise, find another way to spend your time.
